This Poke FPV (First Person View) Indoor Racing Drone is sold by aDRONEaline Racing. aDRONEaline is the sole importer of this particular drone in the United States. (Thad Allton/The Capital-Journal)

Austin Wright, owner of aDRONEaline Racing, 5835 S.W. 21st St., is excited about the potential growth in drone racing, both regionally and nationally. He has a difficult time keeping his new store stocked as products fly off the shelf. (Thad Allton/The Capital-Journal)

Drone pilots line up for in preparation to fly a course at Romig Park on Feb. 11. (Tim Hrenchir/The Capital-Journal)

A new Topeka business is tapping into the skyrocketing popularity of drones and drone racing, and owner Austin Wright isn’t confining his business to retail sales.

Wright, a majority owner of aDRONEaline Racing, 5835 S.W. 21st St., reels off ideas for the future of this fledgling industry in Topeka and the region at about the same speed as one of his racing drones zips around the parking lot outside his store.

He came to the business purely by accident — or fate, depending on the point of view — after seeing an online video of the Drone Racing League. He texted a friend, Keith Groves, and sent him a link to the video and asked if he wanted to start a business with him. Groves had bought a drone days earlier, and he invited Wright over to fly it.

That was in June 2016, and the pair, joined by Travis Grindal, who is known in the drone world for his YouTube videos and drone racing expertise, opened aDRONEaline Racing in November.

Although flying the drone that first time was fun, Wright was blown away by the experience he had when he put on goggles to fly in what is called FPV, or first-person view. The goggles put you in the pilot’s seat, he explained.

“I put the goggles on and it’s a completely different experience,” he said. “It makes you feel like you’re up in the air, flying like a bird. I’m a video gamer, and that’s exactly — it’s like you’re in the cockpit of the plane you’ve been flying in Battlefield. I immediately fell in love with it.”

The two first launched E.T. Drone Home, which is a film production company that offers aerial videography and photography for real estate agents, highlighting property for sale, but also doing roof inspections for insurance companies or crop inspections for farmers.

“We started doing a lot of real estate up in Kansas City,” Wright said. “I was like, this is going to be our big moneymaker. The store, I thought, was going to trickle along. It’s actually been the complete opposite. We’ve been overwhelmed with the amount of traffic we’ve had in the store.”

As their business started, Wright and Groves had an informational table at a local golf event to bring attention to their business. It was there someone told them to talk with Grindal. They did and found he brought the drone expertise to their business that they lacked. Groves has become a strong freestyle drone pilot, but Wright admits he isn’t great at that part of the job.

Grindal had been hosting races in the area as KC FPV for about two years after falling in love with the sport.

“Our first race had about eight people,” Grindal said, adding that he held them initially in Kansas City because that is where people he flew with were located. “Then last season we had 29 pilots, and this year, we’ve already had 34. We’ve seen substantial growth.”

Grindal found his way to piloting drones after his brother-in-law said he was going to build one.

“I thought he was serious, so I built one, and then he didn’t build one,” he said, laughing.

ADRONEaline was full of laughter and jokes Wednesday afternoon, spiked by launches of small drones indoors to dart through and around lighted hoops that make up a small indoor track and the louder buzz of a drone that raced and turned flips around the parking lot.

Michael Norwood, of Lawrence, wandered into the store Wednesday and walked around in awe. He discovered drones after buying one as a Christmas gift for his 4-year-old niece. He watched her play with it, then stopped and bought one on the way home for himself. Although he crashed and killed it quickly, he now owns four and just discovered aDRONEaline Racing online. He was excited to be in a store where he can get advice and learn about the sport.

“This is the place I’ve been looking for,” he said.

Mitch Hupe, of Overland Park, was in the store using tools and equipment in the back to work on a drone he is building. Hupe joined in on the build classes held by aDRONEaline staff.

“I drove all the way over here for Travis’ expertise and this place,” he said, adding that he likes the camaraderie at the store. “Even during the build class, it felt welcoming and inviting.”

Wright can barely contain his excitement when he talks about the potential for drones and the business. He recently attended CES 2017, a Consumer Technology Association conference on drones held in Las Vegas. The technology is constantly evolving, including capabilities that will let drones seed crops for farmers and perform other tasks. At the conference, Wright and Groves made industry contacts and now work with a Los Angeles firm, Aerial Pro Films, which uses drones for concerts and video work. Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl halftime show was an example of what can be done, he said.

Closer to home, he has talked with Shawnee County about establishing an aerial drone park in Topeka where people could rent drones and goggles and learn to fly, or use the courses to fly their own. Although that is in the initial stages, he is hopeful that Topeka and Kansas could become centers for this high-tech emerging industry. He is looking for store locations in Wichita and Kansas City, as well as opportunities to race there.

The adrenaline of racing sparks the kind of enthusiasm that bounces around aDRONEaline, he said.

“You get high excitement with very little physical risk,” Grindal said. “You got bad knees, you can still fly. You got a bad back, you can still fly. Older people can compete with the younger people. It’s not a physical thing.”

“The adrenaline rush — when I see these pilots get done racing, their hands are shaking,” Wright said. “Every time I start talking about it — and I’ve only flown a half a dozen times in my life — I get goose bumps because it gets people excited. Everybody that walks in, I’d say 90 percent of the people, I have to still explain what FPV stands for. Then I show them these videos and they’re like, ‘Where do I sign up?’ ”